Cable TV Alternatives – Live Streaming Services
This guide is a comparison of all TV streaming services that work as cable TV alternatives. We looked at channel availability, price, and features like regional sports availability, premium channels, and more when comparing live TV streaming services. This article contains tables comparing the streaming cable alternatives in these categories. Before we get to the comparison tables I wanted to give you our recommendations. We compared DIRECTV Now, fuboTV, Hulu Live TV, Philo, PlayStation Vue, Sling TV, and YouTube TV. Here are our findings.
Overall Best Streaming Service – DIRECTV NOW
We recommend DIRECTV NOW mainly due to its channel availability. You can read our full DIRECTV NOW review, and even try their 1-week free trial. Here are the reasons we think this service is the top choice on the market.
- Most cable tv channels available
- Very High availability of local networks
- Decent Sports Coverage
- Great Value at $35 base package
- Best pricing for premium channels like HBO, Showtime, Starz and more
One could argue that their cloud DVR service is only in beta. However, the channel availability more than makes up for that. Furthermore, their cloud DVR is due out in the first quarter of 2018.
Cable Alternative Comparison Summary
The table below shows how each service scored in each category. More detailed tables for each category are later in this article. You can also see the review for each individual service by clicking the link in the table below. Links to the free trials for each service are also linked in the table.
| Trial Offer | Price | Cable TV Channel Availability | Local Channel Availability | Premium Channels | Features | Sports | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| DIRECTV NOW | DIRECTV NOW Review | Free Trial | $35-$70/month | BEST | EXCELLENT | BEST | GOOD | GREAT |
| fuboTV | fuboTV Review | Free Trial | $45/month | GOOD | GOOD | POOR | GOOD | GREAT |
| Hulu TV | Hulu TV Review | Free Trial | $40/month | EXCELLENT | EXCELLENT | GOOD | EXCELLENT | GOOD |
| Philo | Philo Review | Free Trial | $16-$20/month | GOOD | POOR | POOR | GOOD | POOR |
| PlayStation VUE | PlayStation VUE Review | Free Trial | $40-$75/month | EXCELLENT | GREAT | GOOD | EXCELLENT | EXCELLENT |
| Sling TV | Sling TV Review | Free Trial | $20-$25/month | EXCELLENT | GOOD | GOOD | GOOD | GREAT |
| YouTube TV | YouTube Review | Free Trial | $35/month | GOOD | EXCELLENT | OK | BEST | GREAT |
Use the links below to navigate to the detailed live TV streaming service comparison of each individual category.
Comparison Categories
- Streaming Cable TV Channels
- Broadcast Network Comparison
- Live TV Streaming Service Features
- Streaming Premium Channels
- Streaming Regional Sports Networks
Streaming Cable TV Channels
The table below is a comparison of all the major live TV streaming services based on the availability of the top cable TV channels on their service. A checkmark indicates it’s available for the lowest price package that service offers. Otherwise, the checkmark will include a price next to it. If the channel is available through an add-on package then the checkmark will indicate the price with a “+” and the cost of the add-on package.
As shown in the chart below DirecTV Now has the best channel availability when it comes to networks found on traditional cable and satellite television.
| DIRECTV NOW | fuboTV | Hulu | Philo | PlayStation Vue | Sling Orange | Sling Blue | YouTube | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| $35 – $70 | $40 | $40 | $16 | $40 – $75 | $20 | $25 | $35 | |
| A&E | ||||||||
| AMC | ||||||||
| Animal Planet | ||||||||
| BET | +$5 | |||||||
| Bravo | ||||||||
| Cartoon Network | ||||||||
| CNN | ||||||||
| Comedy Central | ||||||||
| Discovery | ||||||||
| Disney Channel | ||||||||
| E! | +$5 | |||||||
| ESPN | ||||||||
| Food Network | ||||||||
| Fox News | ||||||||
| Fox Sports 1 | ||||||||
| Freeform | ||||||||
| FX | ||||||||
| FXX | ||||||||
| Hallmark | +$5 | +$5 | ||||||
| HGTV | ||||||||
| History | ||||||||
| Investigation Discovery | ||||||||
| Lifetime | ||||||||
| MSNBC | +$5 | |||||||
| MTV | +$5 | +$5 | ||||||
| Nickelodeon | ||||||||
| OWN | – $50 | |||||||
| Paramount Network | +$5 | +$5 | ||||||
| Syfy | ||||||||
| TBS | ||||||||
| TCM | +$5 | +$5 | +$5 | |||||
| TLC | ||||||||
| TNT | ||||||||
| truTV | +$5 | |||||||
| USA Network | ||||||||
| VH1 | +$5 | +$5 |
Broadcast Network Comparison
Since it varies based on location, I recommend you check out my guide to watching local channels for more information on what each service offers in regard to your local NBC, ABC, FOX, CBS, etc.
Ultimately DIRECTV NOW, Hulu and Youtube TV are the Best Options for live local channels. PS VUE is the next best option after those three. FuboTV is behind Vue followed by Sling TV. Philo TV currently isn’t offering local channels.
TV Streaming Service Features
For the price, YouTube TV has the best feature set due to it’s DVR capacity. Hulu and PlayStation Vue are feature rich make for good cable alternatives. Hulu has a competitive feature set, but charges for upgrades. The rest of the services are about even when you consider the features you receive for the cost of the service.
| DIRECTV NOW | fuboTV | Hulu | Philo | PlayStation Vue | Sling Orange | Sling Blue | YouTube | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| $35 – $70 | $45 | $40 | $16 | $40 – $75 | $20 | $25 | $35 | |
| Cloud DVR | (in Beta) | $5 | $5 | |||||
| Cloud DVR Capacity | unknown | 30 hrs | 50 hrs | Unlimited 30 days | Unlimited 28 days | 50 hrs | 50 hrs | Unlimited 8 months |
| Simultaneous Streaming | 2 streams | 2 streams | 2 streams | 3 streams | 5 streams | 1 stream | 3 streams | 3 streams |
| On Demand | ||||||||
| Parental Controls |
Premium Channels
The table below shows which premium channels are available on each TV streaming service along with the cost of each. DIRECTV NOW offers the best pricing while Sling TV offers the most channels. All things considered, DIRECTV NOW edges out Sling TV due to the amazing pricing DIRECTV NOW offers for these channels.
| DIRECTV NOW | fuboTV | Hulu | Philo | PlayStation Vue | Sling Orange | Sling Blue | YouTube | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| $35 – $70 | $45 | $40 | $16 | $40 – $75 | $20 | $25 | $35 | |
| Cinemax | $5 | $9 | $15 | $10 | $10 | |||
| EPIX | $5 | $5 | ||||||
| HBO | $5 | $15 | $15 | $15 | $15 | |||
| Showtime | $8 | $10 | $11 | $10 | $10 | $11 | ||
| Starz | $8 | $9 | $9 |
Stream Regional Sports Networks Live
When it comes to the availability of regional sports networks, FuboTV comes out on top. DirecTV and Playstation Vue are good second choices. However, keep in mind that these channels are only available if you live in the market for that channel. For a better idea of which service to get based on the sports your watch, see our guide to watching sports without cable.
| DIRECTV NOW | fuboTV | Hulu | Philo | PlayStation Vue | Sling Orange | Sling Blue | YouTube | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| $35 – $70 | $45 | $40 | $16 | $40 – $75 | $20 | $25 | $35 | |
| Altitude | ||||||||
| AT&T SportsNet Northwest | ||||||||
| AT&T SportsNet Pittsburgh | ||||||||
| AT&T SportsNet Rocky Mountain | ||||||||
| AT&T SportsNet Southwest | ||||||||
| AT&T SportsNet Utah | ||||||||
| Fox Sports Arizona | $50+ | $45+ | ||||||
| Fox Sports Carolinas | ||||||||
| Fox Sports Detroit | $50+ | $45+ | ||||||
| Fox Sports Florida | $50+ | $45+ | ||||||
| Fox Sports Indiana | ||||||||
| Fox Sports Kansas City | ||||||||
| Fox Sports Midwest | $50+ | $45+ | ||||||
| Fox Sports New Orleans | ||||||||
| Fox Sports North | $50+ | $45+ | ||||||
| Fox Sports Ohio | $50+ | $45+ | ||||||
| Fox Sports Oklahoma | $50+ | |||||||
| Fox Sports Prime Ticket | $50+ | $45+ | ||||||
| Fox Sports San Diego | $50+ | $45+ | ||||||
| Fox Sports South | $50+ | $45+ | ||||||
| Fox Sports Southeast | $50+ | $45+ | ||||||
| Fox Sports Southwest | $50+ | $45+ | ||||||
| Fox Sports Sun | $50+ | $45+ | ||||||
| Fox Sports Tennessee | ||||||||
| Fox Sports West | $50+ | $45+ | ||||||
| Fox Sports Wisconsin | $50+ | |||||||
| MASN | ||||||||
| MSG | $50+ | |||||||
| MSG+ | $50+ | |||||||
| NBC Sports Bay Area | $50+ | $45+ | ||||||
| NBC Sports Boston | $50+ | $45+ | ||||||
| NBC Sports California | $50+ | $45+ | ||||||
| NBC Sports Chicago | $50+ | $45+ | ||||||
| NBC Sports Northwest | $45+ | |||||||
| NBC Sports Philadelphia | $45+ | |||||||
| NBC Sports Philadelphia+ | ||||||||
| NBC Sports Washington | $50+ | $45+ | ||||||
| NBC Sports Washington+ | ||||||||
| NESN | $45+ | |||||||
| Spectrum SportsNet LA | ||||||||
| SportsNet NY | ||||||||
| SportsTime Ohio | $50+ | $45+ | ||||||
| YES Network | $50+ | $45+ |
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